Jewels of the 1920s that transform a
routine day

A privately sourced collection of jewellery boosted this first dispersal of the year in these Hampshire rooms at George Kidner on 9 January – “the bulk of the rest of the material was just good stock pieces”, said auctioneer Andrew Reeves.

ATG Reporter

14 Feb 2002

ATG Reporter

14 Feb 2002

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The collection included a diamond-set sautoir of 18 sections each, with a double line of eight diamonds and a bar set with three large and 14 small diamonds to one end and an arch and circle to the other, set with one large and 32 small diamonds.

An added attraction of the sautoir, in its fitted Carrington & Co. case, was its versatility – it separated to form two necklaces. Bar one or two replacement stones, the 1920’s piece, which had not been worn in 50 years, was “lovely and fresh” and attracted huge interest ranging from the London trade to wealthy private bidders. Against hopes of up to £15,000, the hammer eventually fell at £45,000 with the auctioneers unwilling to divulge the status of the successful buyer.

The jewellery collection also included such successes as a two-stone diamond crossover ring which took £3800, and a mid-Victorian diamond and sapphire hinged bangle which went over estimate at £2600.

Among the works of art was a 19th century Anglo-Indian horn clad tea caddy from a private vendor “who requested the estimate that was used”, said Andrew Reeves. Why the vendor pegged such a currently collectable item at £80-100 is not known but the 141/2in (37cm) high sarcophagus-shaped caddy with fitted interior and ivory-veneered, twin-lidded canisters either side of a mixing bowl recess, was always expected to fetch more. Bar some slight bowing to the horn cladding, it was in good order and sold at £1500.

Mr Reeves was happy to admit there was nothing special in the furniture but a selection of good stock bread and butter pieces saw some respectable four-figure results.

Best of the furniture was a Regency mahogany and rosewood crossbanded breakfast table in dire need of a clean.

The 4ft 113/4in (1.52m) high table was in grubby order but under the dirt Mr Reeves was confident of the quality and good colour of the piece. With a hinged rectangular top on a turned column and quadruped base, the table was a trade buy at £2400. Selling second time around was an Edwardian mahogany and satinwood banded bureau. The 2ft 51/2in (75cm) high bureau, fitted with two short drawers over a fall and bearing the stamp of Maple & Co., failed against a £1000-1500 estimate last October but in January, with a more tempting £800-1200 estimate, it got away at £2000.

A small ceramics section saw a strong result for a 131/4in (34cm) high Della Robbia earthenware vase illustrated on the back of the catalogue. From a local source, the vase had been decorated in polychrome with maidens and flowers by Cassandra Annie Walker and the neck incised with the motto Ardor non conosece travaglio.

The only conditional problem was the powdery texture to the bottom of the base, but the rarity of the piece more than made up for this and it got away over estimate at £1600. There were no major notables amongst the “straightforward” silver section where “standard stock pieces” were selling for “standard stock prices”.

George Kidner, Lymington January 9 Number of lots: 438 Number of lots sold: n/a Sale total: £200,000 (approx.) Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent